Career Watch: The hottest scripting languages

The CIO at Inteva Products answers questions about his hiring criteria, the skills needed in a cloud-based world and more.

What qualities do you look for when hiring for your team? The ability to work with others is a key requirement in today's team-oriented environment. Another is the ability to look at IT as a service and understand how we support the business, even if a person is an infrastructure specialist. Everything and everyone supports the business, not just functional analysts.

I've been in law enforcement for over 10 years, and my opportunities to advance have been slim. My position is secure, with good benefits. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide me with any challenges. A company that is hiring in my area will accept applicants with only a bachelor's degree and will train you on the job. I have a good background in IT, especially hardware. Should I give up a sure thing to pursue an IT or project manager position in this economy? The IT market has certainly picked up in the past year. IT can be a very challenging and rewarding area, and I feel that opportunity abounds. On-the-job training is a great way to get the basics and get in on the ground floor. There is a groundswell of projects that were delayed over the past couple of years with the recession that are now starting to come back to life. While there are no guarantees, I would say that this would be a good career move.

In an increasingly cloud-based world, what skills will be most in demand in years to come? We have to look at the two cloud environments. Public clouds alleviate the need for server support, but you still need strong security and firewall expertise. With a private cloud, you will actually require stronger support skills in the advanced technical systems that make up that environment. This includes experience in virtual-machine support from the server side, storage expertise, networking skills, and security and firewall expertise. You also have to be a good architect.

If you have a question for one of our Premier 100 IT Leaders, send it to [email protected], and watch for this column each month.

The Hottest Scripting Languages

If you want to pump up your résumé with mastery of a hot scripting language, then take a peek at the roundup that InfoWorld's Peter Wayner compiled. Besides sorting eight languages into "Hot" and "Not Hot" categories, he offers evidence to support his rankings and shares interesting tidbits, such as the fact that Python started to ascend as a direct result of the housing market crash. To find out more about this and other trends in scripting languages, go to InfoWorld.com. Meanwhile, here's a recap of Wayner's assessments:

Hot Scripting Languages

• JavaScript

• Python

• Scala

• R

• PHP

Lukewarm Scripting Language

• Ruby

Not-Hot Scripting Languages

• ActionScript

• Perl

Network Pros See Value in Certs

Half of IT workers said in a recent survey that a certification led to higher pay. Of the 700 people who responded to the survey, which was conducted by Network World and IT management software vendor Solar­Winds, three quarters had at least one certification. Respondents, who predominantly work in networking, said certification led to one or more of the following:

• A new job 61%

• An increase in salary or a bonus 56%

• A promotion 29%

• Other 11%

H-1B Fees to Boost U.S. Training

Using money generated by the H-1B visa program, the U.S. government will start providing grants for training unemployed U.S. job seekers. The $160 million program is being implemented by the Labor Department, which will provide grants to 36 private-public partnerships serving 20 states and the District of Columbia.